Paying public should get seats
More than four months before
the Oregon football season is
scheduled to begin, two sides are
already vying for field position at
Autzen Stadium.
The matchup pits Oregon’s
Athletic Department against the
ASUO’s Athletic Department Fi
nance Committee. While it may
not be a fourth-and-goal situation,
. there is an end zone — stadium
Section 9. The A.D. is driving
hard to get there, and the ADFC
has dug its heels deep into the
turf.
Section 9 is the closest student
section midfield, located on
Autzen’s north side. Students had
first dibs to Section 9 for the last
13 years, including last season
when the A.D. opened it up for
general admission after students
were given first crack at it.
The A.D. kicked off the issue by
requesting that the ADFC sign a
contract that would give Section
9 to the general public. The
ADFC, which uses its portion of
student incidental fees to negoti
ate seating contracts at both foot
ball and men’s basketball games,
rejected the proposal last Tues
day.
It’s a classic standoff.
On the defensive end of the
field, the ADFC doesn’t want to
give up what students have had
for years.
And they have the right to be
worried. In a society where mon
ey is sadly the most influential
factor in decision making, the
Athletic Department’s move to
take away preseason seats from
students could provide ground
for more slippage in the future. If
the A.D. can change the rules now
and cite economic reasons for do
ing so, why won’t they do the
same someday down the road?
Getting more green — not
meaning more school spirit — is
why the A.D. wants to reclaim
Section 9.
But, like the ADFC, the A.D.
has valid reasoning. There are
6,098 seats in Sections 5 through
9, the traditional student sections.
Student incidental fees pay for
these seats in the regular season,
but they’re given to the students
for free in the preseason.
Keep in mind that the A.D.’s
proposal
would
only affect
preseason
games.
Most
students
aren’t even
back from
summer
vacation
when the
Scott preseason
Pesznecker beginsear
- ly in Sep
tember,
and the numbers prove it. Of
6,098 student seats, only about
2,500 are filled in the preseason.
The A.D. says that opening Sec
tion 9 would encourage more of
the general public to buy tickets.
The lack of students at presea
son games, coupled with the at
tractiveness of Section-9 seating,
seems like good enough reason
ing to me.
So why shouldn’t the A.D. give
Section 9 to the general public?
There is the fear that one
change could lead to another —
that if the A.D. wins this standoff
and does make more money, that
it may pursue such seat limita
tions in the regular season as
well.
However, that’s a completely
different ball game. Students ac
tually pay foi their regular season
tickets. The student section is the
loudest section of the stadium. If
it weren’t for the students, there
wouldn’t even be a football team.
I hope the A.D. is smart'enough
to not even think about taking
away regular season tickets. If it
ever tries, it will find its standing
with the students and the com
munity in a world of hurt.
Yet this is about the preseason.
Who cares if students don’t have
Section 9? Hardly anyone goes to
those games anyway. Yes, stu
dents are the loudest, most sup
portive fans during the regular
season. Students can’t complain
about where they are going to sit,
cost free, if they don’t even fill
half of their allotted space.
The right to watch football
from Section 9 at Autzen Stadium
is not guaranteed in the Constitu
tion of the United States, nor does
the Athletic Department have any
obligation to carry on that tradi
tion.
Students get their regular-sea
son seating because they’re the
A.D.’s No. 1 customer. They con
sistently fill their seats at every
meaningful game. They buy the
sports apparel and indirectly mar
ket the A.D.’s cause. When an
Oregon football game is televised,
it’s the loud, rowdy students they
show, portraying Autzen as one
helluva place to watch football.
But a studentless seat in the
student section is an empty seat,
and that’s not intelligent business.
Oregon athletics will benefit more
from Section 9 by selling to the
public than it would by giving it
to students who aren’t there.
Scott Pesznecker is assistant sports edi
tor of the Emerald. He can be reached
via e-mail at jflak1@aol.com.
Sports brief
Beavers sign free-agent
contracts
PORTLAND (AP)— While no
Oregon State players were select
ed in the NFL draft over the week
end, two Beavers — offensive
lineman Aaron Koch and line
backer Jonathan Jackson — have
signed free-agent contracts.
Koch signed with the AFC
champion Tennessee Titans, and
Jackson signed with the Kansas
City Chiefs.
Koch was contacted by both
Tennessee and the Jacksonville
Jaguars within minutes of the con
clusion of the draft’s final rounds
on Sunday, but he said the Titans
made him feel more wanted.
“I went to the Titans because
their offensive line coach (Mike
Munchak) really wanted me, and
because they upped their offer,”
said Koch.
He will receive a $7,000 signing
bonus with a two-year contract at
$198,000 the first year and
$275,000 the second, provided he
makes the team. He’ll receive
$700 a week during practices as
long as he stays with the team un
til the NFL season begins.
Tennessee offered $2,000 more
than Jacksonville.
“It wasn’t about the money,”
Koch said. “I wanted to know who
wanted me the most, and where I
had the best shot at making the
team, and that’s with the Titans.”
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